It’s time again for Whidbey News-Times readers to vote for their favorite businesses and people in their community.

Online voting for Best of Whidbey 2016 is underway via www.whidbeynewstimes.com, the newspaper’s website. Paper ballots will also appear in print editions of the News-Times, South Whidbey Record and The Whidbey Examiner.

Last year’s Best of Whidbey awards luncheon was so successful that an evening banquet at a larger venue, the Elks Lodge, is scheduled for July 22. Tickets will be limited.

The purpose of the lighthearted contest is to give readers a fun way to show their appreciation and support for great services and great people.

This year’s list of categories is a streamlined a bit but still includes such awards as Best Business and Best Businessperson, according to Keven Graves, publisher of the Whidbey News Group.

Last year, nearly 3,000 readers cast more than 69,750 votes online. Graves said his hope is to see 5,000 people casting votes this year.

“We are excited about all the community involvement for this event,” said Associate Publisher Kim Winjum, whose team organized last year’s successful awards luncheon.

Most of the categories include the top vote-getting nominees from last year. There is also the option of submitting write-in nominations.

“We strive to improve the contest each year,” said Graves. “We take into account what our readers tell us they’d like to see.”

Key awards, including Business of the Year and Best Businessperson, are by nomination only.

Winners of the 2016 Best of Whidbey will be announced in a special section included in the Saturday, July 23 News-Times — after the awards banquet.

To ensure your votes are counted, be sure to log in to the site with your email and password, and click on the “Vote” buttons to record your selections.

The website address for Best of Whidbey is http://whidbey.secondstreetapp.com/l/Best-of-Whidbey-2016